Blogs and Commentary

Bracketology: Selection Sunday Edition

The intrigue started Wednesday night, when Delaware knocked off
Hofstra in the CAA semifinals. It continued Friday, when North
Carolina beat Notre Dame, and intensified Saturday afternoon, when
Colgate beat Maryland and Hartford pulled out a last-second win
against Stony Brook. Then Saturday night Villanova played its way
onto the bubble by losing at Georgetown.

The bubble may appear cloudier than ever, but I've tried to
simplify it. Here's a look at the Division I men's tournament, as
of Sunday morning.

Delaware is in theory locked into the 14th overall seed at this
point, unless Hofstra makes the tournament. Then the Hens would
hold an edge over the Pride, whom they've beaten twice this season.
This is one reason to think Hofstra shouldn't make the tournament.
Any of the other bubble teams would likely be regarded higher than
Delaware.

The Hawks are in; this much we know. But they lost to Siena early
in the regular season, which could hurt them matchup-wise.

16. Siena/Detroit Mercy (MAAC automatic
qualifier)
These two play noon Sunday for a bid to the tournament. If Siena
wins, it probably has a first-round matchup with Syracuse waiting.
Detroit could head to Notre Dame based on geography.

The Bubble

If Cornell beats Harvard in the Ivy League championship, the
bubble looks like this: Three
at-large spots up for grabs among Villanova, Hofstra, Penn, Harvard
and Colgate.

If Harvard beats Cornell in the Ivy League championship, Cornell
slips to No. 3/4, with Johns Hopkins at No. 2 and Notre Dame at No.
3/4, and the bubble looks like
this: Two at-large sports up for
grabs among Villanova, Hofstra, Penn, Colgate

The resumes for the bubble teams (if Harvard wins Sunday, the
Crimson's in anyway):

Predictions

None here. No matter how you slice it, two teams Sunday will
have legitimate beefs about not getting in the tournament. Just
which two will they be? We report, and you can let your mind
wander. Leave some comments below, or send me an email at
cmclaughlin@uslacrosse.org. Check back to LaxMagazine.com Sunday
night for the brackets in all divisions and back often this week
for analysis and breakdowns of the selections.

* Strength of Schedule rankings and RPI numbers are from LaxPower.com, which uses the NCAA formulas.